All in a day’s work

Fifty homes in five years. It's an ambitious goal for Habitat for Humanity Leeward Oahu, the newest affiliate of Hawaii Habitat for Humanity. One home typically takes six to eight months to complete by crews made up of mostly volunteers.

But in two years as a stand-alone agency, the nonprofit organization is slowly moving toward its goal of building homes at reasonable cost for needy families -- those at or below 50 percent of the state median income. So far the intermediate goal seems attainable: Four houses have been built on the Leeward side in two years.

The latest project is a $90,000, seven-bedroom, two-bath house for the multigenerational Johnson-Ho'ohuli family. Construction began May 18, and Shantell Ho'ohuli is awaiting moving day with her baby, Shaistin, 4 months, and nine other relatives, including her mother, grandmother, sister, cousins, nephews and nieces.

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Shantelle Ho'ohuli, who will live in the house, watches with her 4-month-old child Shaistin through a window in a newly placed wall.

"It's a big, big change. It's exciting looking forward to getting it done," said Ho'ohuli, who had been living with her boyfriend on the property in a termite-ridden home that had been in her family for generations. Other members of Ho'ohuli's family are scattered around Waianae, including a handful of residents holed up in a studio on Poka'i Bay. "We couldn't have done it without Habitat. It feels like it's someone else's house!"

Like other Habitat families, the Johnson-Ho'ohulis are putting in 500 hours of "sweat equity" -- 250 hours of labor on her own property and another 250 on other houses in need of completion.

Ho'ohuli said her future home is not the only tangible reward that has come with the journey. "I'm used to doing minor home repairs, but I now have the ability for major home repairs."

Sure, that new house in Kalihi Valley may have garnered a bit of attention. But for some folks in Waianae, the progress made on their modest future homes brought just as much joy as the huge, televised celebration for "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" earlier this month.

Habitat Help

For help: The next application meeting for Leeward families interested in applying for a new home through Habitat for Humanity is at 5 p.m. Sept. 25, Waianae United Methodist Church. Call 696-7882.

For some 800 volunteers, Saturday was a time to swing hammers, grab saws and work up a sweat while lending support to one method of combating Hawaii's housing crunch: working hand-in-hand with Habitat for Humanity to construct affordable housing for those without permanent shelter.

For some, the cause was entirely personal: Future homeowners got the opportunity not only to witness the changes to their homes, but to work on them from the ground up.

Volunteers statewide turned out for the fourth annual Build-a-Thon for Habitat for Humanity, which saw workers gathered at 30 sites on Oahu, Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Hawaii; six houses are currently being constructed in Honolulu and Leeward Oahu.

Said Shantell Ho'ohuli, 25, of the progress made on her house in Waianae: "I've got my bedroom all picked out."

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Volunteers put up the walls of the home. All walls were prefabricated off site and put up in one day.

WITH A MISSION of eliminating homelessness and substandard housing, Hawaii Habitat for Humanity has built more than 200 homes largely on volunteer support since 1998.

"There's an unprecedented housing crisis in Hawaii," said Kathleen Hasegawa, executive director for the Hawaii Habitat for Humanity Association.

The affordable-housing shortage is increasingly evident along Waianae Coast, and plans for future construction for Habitat for Humanity Leeward Oahu include the purchase of 3.21 acres of land in Maili, with the hope of building 31 fee-simple homes next year on the property. Last quarter, 27 applicants sought home ownership through Habitat for Humanity on the Leeward side, the largest turnout of applicants. Selected families typically put down $1,000 and pay $300 to $400 a month on a 20-year loan, with zero interest. The organization provides housing material and subcontractors for electrical and plumbing work.

The one-day Build-a-Thon is the largest event for the seven Hawaii affiliates of the nonprofit organization, and also a major fundraising source for future projects. Builders collect pledges based upon the number of hours worked, with the intention of raising a minimum of $150 each. Leeward Habitat's goal was to raise $44,000.

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Volunteers put up the walls of the home. All walls were prefabricated off site and put up in one day.

On Saturday, on the Leeward side alone, 100 workers, including members of corporate teams from Centex Destination Properties, Waikiki Rotary, Marriott, HomeStreet Bank, Booz Allen Hamilton and Waianae Rotary, gathered at three sites in Waianae to work on houses in various stages of completion, from raising the walls on one home to scraping excess paint off windows in another.

Duke University intern Chris Hopper has worked with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans and is volunteering with the Leeward Oahu affiliate for the summer. "It's about the passions of the individual," Hopper said. The Hawaii experience has given him a new perspective. In New Orleans, he'll typically work with a smaller, single family. "Getting to know multigenerational families is part of the beauty of working on these projects here."

While some volunteers showed up just for Saturday's Build-a-Thon, others have been turning out on a regular basis for years. Rebecca and Jim Newport have turned up every Saturday for five years to cut panels for someone else's dream home. Rebecca's foray into Habitat for Humanity began as a water-bottle carrier for her husband's firm, Booz Allen Hamilton. Not content with that task, Newport aimed for bigger goals.

"I wanted to be in on it," Newport said. "I wanted to do the building. I got hooked when I saw we all can do that. You don't need experts. You don't need any skills or tools."